To Be A God
by thedragonprincess21
Summary: Fifty five years have passed since the war with Gaea and over that course of time, Percy has been struggling through the life of being a fledgling god. Being the god of demigods, he's been all over the world in search of the unclaimed and any who may need his guidance. He's interrupted, however, by a desperate call from home and finally after fifty years the legendary hero returns.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note -** This idea for a story came very recently to my mind. I've always wanted to write a story that involved Percy becoming a god. I know that there's a lot of stories out there about him becoming a god, so for a while I was a bit hesitant on the idea of posting one of my own out there - as I wasn't sure of how bored people were of that sort of story, but I finally decided to go ahead with it and hopefully this story will be enjoyed!

( **P.S. -** _Just going to drop a warning here ahead of time. This first chapter does have a scene that has an abused animal in it - while it doesn't go into full detail, I can completely understand that may be upsetting to some people so I thought I'd give a forewarning._ )

 **Disclaimer -** I don't own any of Rick Riordan's characters. They all rightfully belong to him!

* * *

It was never his plan to become a god after his twentieth birthday.

After his battle with Kronos, he had little doubt in his mind when he refused Zeus' offer of godhood, and after that had happened, he never really figured the topic would ever arise again. However, following the events of the war with Gaea, things began to spiral out of control - a fight broke out between the Big Three and to avoid a possible war amongst them - he found himself being the centerpiece of it all. He never really understood how he had fitted into the equation, but for some reason or another, Zeus had grudgingly agreed that he would refrain from initiating such a war ever in the future if he became a god. Thus he became Perseus Jackson; god of demigods, loyalty, and riptides. It was far from an easy choice, though - as the reasoning behind it had been rather stupid and part of him wished his younger self wouldn't have agreed to it. Surely there could have been a way to resolve it even if it could have risked war. But because of that choice, Annabeth and him had decided that it was probably best for them to split. Thankfully, even after the upset, the two of them had remained close friends and kept in touch.

Percy was sprawled out on remote beach, the warm sand upon his bare back as he watched the clouds drift lazily across the sky. A few feet away from him, he could hear Blackjack munching happily on the oats he had given him a few minutes prior, and with a smack of his lips, the equine looked up towards his dozing master. _Are we heading out soon, boss?_

A yawn escaped Percy and he cracked open one of his eyes to glance over at his black steed. When the pegasus had learned that Percy was possibly going to be turned into a god, he had insisted on wanting to become immortal with him so he could accompany him forever, and Percy couldn't deny that he appreciated his company - the past fifty years would have been incredibly lonely. "Yeah, I guess we could go soon." He wasn't sure where. Usually he'd receive some sort of signal if there was a demigod who was in need, but for the past month and a half, there was oddly nothing. When he first started, there'd be at least four or so a week.

 _Maybe we could go back to Camp Half-Blood,_ Blackjack stated, sounding hopeful, _If there isn't anyone else along the way, I mean. It should be okay to visit right? I mean, you're the god of demigods and the camp is full of 'em so why not?_

He had a point, but he himself wasn't too sure. Ever since he had left home, he always had felt a bit awkward on the idea of returning. Aside from Thalia, all of his friends were now well up in their years and he knew it'd be rather strange seeing them all aged with children - some even grandchildren - of their own. "Maybe." He mused, pulling his shirt back on as he stood up. "Let's go circle Ireland for a bit - we haven't been there for a while."

The sensation was always strange to him - ever since he became a god, traveling was a simple matter. All he had to do was picture whatever place he had in mind, and suddenly they'd be there. Traveling the world was always something he really wanted to do, but with Annabeth. The thought of it always was enough to bring down his mood a bit, even after all this time. _I smell donuts._ Blackjack's voice drew him out of his thoughts. Even after all this time, the pegasus hadn't lost his love for the sweet treat.

"I just gave you oats." Percy rolled his eyes. "Those are a lot better for you than donuts anyway." He heard Blackjack grumbled under his breath and the two of them landed behind a hill. Dublin was only a mile away and as he slid off of Blackjack's back, he gave his friend a pat. "I'm going to head into town for a bit. You can stick around here or go fly around if you'd like. I'll call you when I'm ready to leave."

 _Sounds good boss._ Blackjack stretched his wings, giving them a flap before he folded them up and dipped his head to graze.

He didn't get too far, however, and bumped into a familiar face. "So yer back den, laddie. Nice seein' ya again." In front of him was a large, handsome man who sported a long dark beard. His eyes were full of mirth, and he was giving him a smile.

Another thing that was unavoidable when traveling the world was running into other deities aside from Greeks and Romans. Before him stood one of those other deity - his name was Fer Benn the Dagda. When the two of them first met, he had tried to give him his full name which was along the lines of Fer Benn Bruach Brogaill Broumide-and he didn't really know the rest because he cut him off by then, and asked if Fer Benn was okay (no disrespect intended, of course.) From their last brief meeting he had learned that Fer Benn was the god of the earth and agriculture. So, at first, he related that to Demeter, but it was a bit more complicated than that. He was also a protector, a warrior, and known for a lot more than that - Celtic deities were entirely different from the Greeks or Romans. Unlike those two who focused on one place - Greece and Rome, Celtic was more of an umbrella term and described multiple places. "Nice seeing you again too." Percy replied, realizing he hadn't responded yet. He glanced at the other god suspiciously. "Were you waiting for me? I've only got here and already I've bumped into you."

Fer Benn laughed, and gave his back a bone jarring smack. "No need to be so tense, lad. Tis been centuries since we've seen one of ye Greeks so myself and a few of the others might've put tabs on ye. Yer also a new one so that makes ye even more curious. Percy wassit?"

"Yes," He glanced warily around, "Is Morrigan around too?"

The older god grinned. "Yer safe lad. The Morrigan decided to go off somewhere. We haven't seen her in months. So lucky fer you, you'll remain intact to see another day." Fer Benn wrapped an arm around his shoulders, tugging him just a bit closer so he could speak more quietly. "'Less if yer into that sort of thing. She's a beautiful one, isn't she?"

His expression must have instantly changed to horror, because Fer Benn threw his head back and laughed, releasing him to give him another pat on the back. "Just jokin' witcha, lad. What brings ye back after all this time?"

"I just wanted to visited," Percy shrugged, "I haven't had much to do lately so I guess I've been kind of bored."

Fer Benn nodded slowly, seeming slightly sympathetic, "Best get used to it now, lad. Boredom is a god's worse enemy some days."

Their exchange was brief after that and Fer Benn sent him off with a "don't be a stranger" before heading off. Out of all the gods and goddesses he's met during his travels, Fer Benn was high up on the list of being most friendly and welcoming. Most deities around the world were tolerant for the most part, but there were a few of them who had made it clear that they didn't want anything to do with him. He was always careful if he ended up having to revisit those places. By the time he returned to Blackjack, the sun was already starting to set in the sky. He was still in the same place, but this time there was a young woman with long, dark hair standing next to him, rubbing his shoulder and neck. Blackjack's eyes were half lidded and looked as if he was in pegasus heaven. Spotting him, the lady smiled, dropping her hand back to her side - much to Blackjack's disappointment - and she stepped forward. "Is this your companion?"

"Yes," He answered, a bit hesitantly, "He hasn't done anything, has he?" Blackjack gave him a look as if saying "what the heck, man", and the woman laughed in amusement.

"Not at all. I was impressed of how well cared for he was and wanted to compliment his rider." She gave his nose a rub. "You were all he talked about during my time with him and it made me curious of you. I can tell that both of you share a very special bond."

Percy smiled a bit. "We've been friends for a long time," Blackjack snorted in agreement, "My name is Percy, by the way. I don't think we've met before."

"My name is Epona," The lady smiled, turning her attention solely to him, "I'm known mostly as being the Irish goddess of horses. I haven't seen a pegasus in a very long time - so I couldn't resist introducing myself."

 _Do we really have to leave, boss?_ Blackjack wondered, sounding reluctant, _she's really nice and her apples are the_ best _ever._

"I thought _you_ were the one who wanted to go home so badly." Percy raised an eyebrow at him.

 _Well, yeah,_ Blackjack shook his mane, and then glanced sheepishly towards Epona, _but apples are important too._

Epona was smiling at the exchange. "I won't keep you for long. Besides," She gave Blackjack a fond, motherly look, "Too many apples will give you a stomach age. Even if you are immortal," Her gaze flicked back to Percy, "Before you leave, I wanted to ask you for a favor, though."

"A favor?" He frowned.

"Yes." She replied, "Some time ago I heard a brief rumor of a Greek godling passing through – I believe that was you, wasn't it?" As he nodded she continued. "I didn't hear much about you, but I did overhear something that did interest me. Is it true that you hold domain over a remote island?"

"Well, it's nothing that cool – but yeah, I do own it so to speak. It was a gift from my father after I was changed into a god."

"I see," She mused, sounding thoughtful, "And who else lives on this island?"

He gave a shrug. "It's just Blackjack and myself – apart from the wildlife that lives there, of course."

"I know that this may be asking you much, especially since we've only met, but I was hoping that you would consider allowing your island to become a sanctuary of sorts for horses. I understand that fitting every single abused horse and equine alike upon a single island would nearly be impossible, but when I heard that you were a frequent traveler, the idea crossed my mind. You'd be able to reach many of them."

Percy slowly ran his hand through his hair. "I hate horse abuse with a passion too, I'd be glad to let any that I come across to take refuge on the island – it's too empty anyway – but I'm not sure if I'd be able to always actively search for them. It may not seem like it right at the moment, but I do usually have my hands full as it is." He didn't want to offend the goddess. He knew it was important to keep up a good impression. It'd be really bad if a rumor started to go around amongst all the gods that he was a scumbag and not to be trusted. But Zeus would have his neck if he started to slack off. For the most part, the thunder god has pretty much ignored him ever since his god ceremony, but he had a feeling that Zeus still kept a close eye on him even so – just waiting for the opportunity to give him a hard time.

Epona didn't seem too angry with his words, however, so that was a relief. "I understand completely." She smiled, "I'm simply relieved that you're at least taking the idea to heart. My sanctuaries are always overflowing and it's hard to accept new members into them." She was beginning to slowly shift into a white mare before him, and once the transformation was complete, she turned her dark blue eyes towards him. _There is an old gelding who lives not too far from here,_ Her voice sounded musical in his mind, _If it's not too much trouble, would you please allow him to be your first resident? He's lived a long, miserable life and deserves a nice, tranquil place to live the remainder of his life._

"Where does he live?"

 _A run down stable just two miles up this path. He is the only horse there – the others have perished, unfortunately, under the abuse of their cruel master there._ She gave a stomp of her hoof, her eyes darkening with her anger.

He could feel his own anger beginning to brew up slightly. "I'll try my best."

 _Thank you, Percy._ The goddess gave him the equine version of a smile, _I will not forget your kindness._

With that being said, she disappeared over the hill, leaving him and Blackjack behind, and with a soft sigh, Percy climbed up on Blackjack's back. "We better find him before it gets completely dark."

 _On it, boss._

They took to the air, following up the path as Epona had instructed and it didn't take them too long to reach the gelding's farm. Just as described, the farm itself was a filthy mess and not at all suited for any animal to live in. There was broken bits of glass, rusty nails, and other dangerous objects just laying haphazardly around. They circled around it once, before he landed Blackjack behind the broken barn. "Stay low while I check it out." He was pretty sure that the Mist would protect Blackjack from being seen as he was, but he wasn't too sure. He learned the hard way during his first visit that the Irish were a bit more sensitive than normal to anything mythical. They pretty much were all superstitious.

It didn't seem like anyone was home at the time, and he slipped carefully into the barn. He was greeted by the bored stares of a few cows, and as he searched through the building, he finally found what he was looking for – and his heart sank at the sight. The gelding was in terrible shape – all bones and his dappled gray coat was dull and filthy. He was also in chains that looked way too tight – he couldn't imagine that the poor horse could even move with them on. At first the gelding didn't even respond to his approach, but then he saw the old horse's eyes flick open. _Who are you?_ Even his voice sounded raspy and weak. _You're not the master of this place._

"No, I'm not," Percy answered gently, "I'm here to take you from this place."

 _Are you one of Epona's servants?_ The gelding wondered and there was a bit more life in his voice – a hopefulness. _If it is my time, you will receive no compliant from me. I'm ready to leave this life behind._

His words struck right to Percy's heart – they were words of acceptance. The gelding was ready for death and it only fueled his anger toward the "master" of the farm. "I'm not a servant – only a friend. She was the one who sent me here," He answered, "However, not because it's time for your death. She wanted me to take you from this place so you could live the rest of your life in peace."

 _I see,_ the gelding released a long breath. He sounded relieved, as if all of the tension of the passing years were falling off of him, _It sounds like a wonderful place. Please thank the goddess when you see her again... Just knowing she has heeded my prayers has been enough to bring me peace._

"I will. Now let me get you out of these chains."

It took forever to remove them, normally it'd be easy with his enhanced strength, but he decided against using that strength due to the possibility of hurting the gelding. As soon as he was free, the old horse was quick to follow him out of the barn and the two of them met up with Blackjack. _We should go soon, boss,_ the pegasus' wings were twitching anxiously, _I just saw an old truck pull up a few moments ago. I think the farmer is back._

It took a bit of willpower to make himself leave. His anger was trying its best to hold him in place that way he could confront the farmer, but he knew lashing out wouldn't go well. Instead, he placed both of his hands on the backs of his equine companions, and with a flash, the three of them disappeared.

As soon as the old gelding stepped hoof upon the island, the transformation was incredible. He wasn't sure if it was because the island was technically his "domain" or what, but whatever it was about the island, it healed the old horse of all his wounds from the chains and cleaned his coat until it shined its original dappled gray. The tangles and knots in his mane and tail all disappeared and now looked silky smooth – he appeared almost ten years younger. The gelding tossed his head a bit, giving a happy snort as he gazed at his reflection in the ocean. _I feel like a colt again._

"You look much better too," Percy grinned, "This is your home now, so you're free to roam as you like. There's no need to worry about predators either – nothing will attack you here. I'm not sure how much I'll visit, but as time passes more horses might come."

 _It's perfect. Thank you for coming for me, lord,_ the gelding sighed blissfully, _I'm grateful._

"I also wanted to ask you something. What's your name? It'll be easier to know what to call you."

The elder horse gave a nod, _Of course. To be honest, I haven't been called anything other than Old Gray for a very long time… but it would be nice to be known as Aodhan once more. It was the name my mother gave me as a colt since I was her little "spitfire"._ The old gray smiled a bit at the memory.

"Aodhan." It definitely suited him more than just "Old Gray". Since he technically wasn't due to go anywhere, he ended up staying on the island for a while to listen to Aodhan tell stories about his life. Blackjack seemed keen on listening as well, and it was nice having a new companion to mingle with. Not that he didn't like hanging out with Blackjack, of course.

The story telling, however, was abruptly interrupted when a deep ache began to form in his skull and it was painful enough for his hand to automatically grasp at his head. He wasn't unfamiliar with the sensation, it happened twice before, but that was quite a bit ago. It usually happens when someone was directly praying to him and he still didn't really know how to control it. He's asked Apollo about it once before and the sun god told him that the first few times were rough, but eventually it'd stop hurting.

 _You okay, boss?_ Blackjack gave him a look of concern as he watched him rub his temples.

"Yeah, just give me a moment." It took him a few moments to focus around the ache and to actually hear what the prayer was.

 _Please, please. Lord Perseus,_ It wasn't a voice that he recognized, but it sounded desperate, _I don't know if you can hear me – I'm still not really good at all this demigod stuff, but_ please _come to Camp Half Blood and help us. Things are out of control and I don't know how much more we can take—_

The prayer cut off there and his headache began to subside. As it did so, he glanced up towards Blackjack and Aodhan who were both patiently waiting for him to speak.

"Looks like we'll be heading home after all, Blackjack."

* * *

Feel free to give me feedback on what you think! Compliments and friendly criticism alike are both equally welcomed. ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note -** Hello everyone! Here's the second chapter of this story. I wanted to thank everyone who's been following this story already - I appreciate your support! I wasn't sure how well this would take off, to be honest. I know a lot of readers of the Percy Jackson series are quite attached to the old cast (me included) so the idea of them possibly not taking a major role in a story may be a bit off putting for some - which I completely understand! Keep in mind that this story is set fifty-five years in the future - so while there's a chance that you may see a few familiar faces, there's going to be a lot more new faces than old ones.

**Also, while I already have my main cast in mind, if you'd like to possibly see your own PJ OC make a minor appearance in this story, feel free to to suggest them in your review! I can't guarantee that they'll show up in it (to give everyone a fair chance, I'll be drawing them out as I go) but since Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter are full of demigods of a new generation, I'll be needing to come up with quite a few characters as the story goes on. Of course, if I do use your character, I will write down your name in this area (Author's Notes) and give you credit for them. :) (I promise I'm not doing this out of laziness - if it comes down to it I'm fine with making up characters myself - I just know a lot of readers love seeing their OCs popping in other stories sometimes. **Please note that each person can only submit one character each.** Thank you! )**

Now, without further ado, here's is the next chapter!

* * *

Blackjack was gazing at Percy with concern as the young god paced back and forth upon the beach. _Do you think everyone is okay back at home?_

"I'm not sure, but we better hurry. Aodhan, hopefully we get the chance to continue to listen to the rest of your stories. Feel free to make yourself comfortable while we're gone."

 _Don't worry about me. I hope you have safe travels, my friends._ Aodhan bode them farewell as they lifted into the sky and the island slowly faded into a speck as they reached the clouds.

Percy gave Blackjack a pat. "Let's go home. Pronto."

 _You got it, boss. Hang on tight!_ Blackjack dipped sharply to the right – heading in the direction of their old home at top speed. Despite being used to the unexpected, Percy couldn't deny that he was a bit nervous this time. This was the first time he ever received such an urgent prayer that was addressed to him – from Camp Half-Blood of all places. All the worse scenarios were coming to mind, and it took him a moment to calm himself.

 _Get a hold of yourself._ He scolded himself. If the camp was really in trouble, it will be really likely that everyone would latch on to him as soon as he arrived. He needed to be ready to help. Any nerves could wait.

When they got closer, he could tell that Blackjack was becoming a bit more nervous. Even with immortality, the natural skittish behavior that most pegasi had still clung on to him a bit – especially if there was danger very near. _I smell monsters and a lot of them._ He nickered, shaking his mane in agitation.

Now that they were flying above familiar ground, he could see smoke up ahead. He almost missed them, but through the trees he spotted two figures, waving their arms wildly at him to get his attention. "Land down there." He told Blackjack and the pegasus quickly obeyed.

The two demigods – one was a girl, the other a boy – who had waved them down looked like they were barely even teenagers and as they ran up to him he could see the relief upon both of their faces. The girl was the one who spoke. "Thank the gods… you actually came." She had a bit of a lingering British accent.

Percy hopped off of Blackjack, who quickly took off again, and he frowned at the two. "What's going on?"

"We'll explain everything, I promise, but we need help. Half of the camp is on _fire._ " The boy told him.

Looks like the questions were going to have to wait.

The three of them didn't waste any more time there and Percy let them lead him back to camp. When they entered the camp, he could only stare at it in shock. Three of the cabins were completely destroyed, some of the others were on fire and other demigods were frantically trying to put the fires out, the stables weren't on fire, but some of it looked charred and it was smoking a bit. Even a bit of the siding of the Big House appeared to be a bit burnt. Luckily there didn't seem to be any monsters in sight, but the fact that Blackjack had sensed a bunch of them before they had landed didn't do much to reassure him. As the three of them walked further into the camp, one of the satyrs caught sight of them. He didn't recognize him, but the satyr – he seemed fairly young – quickly rushed over, a look of relief upon his face. "Thank Pan – you were able to contact him."

Percy frowned, looking around at the chaos in the camp. "I want to know what's going on here, but let's put out the fires first."

The satyr nodded several times, seeming a bit nervous. "Of course! Sorry! I'm just so glad you're here."

Thankfully, the camp was nestled right next to a beach. It was easy for him to manipulate its water and help extinguish the fires in that way. They managed to save the cabins that were on fire – but most of them were still badly burnt and would probably need major repairs. Another thing that was bugging him was the fact that throughout this whole time, there had been no sign of Chiron. Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to push the uneasy feeling that was trying to creep up on him away and he turned back to the situation at hand. He called for a meeting for all who able to attend – there were quite a few who were injured and most of the Apollo campers were in the infirmary. He watched as everyone began to file in, surrounding the bonfire area – nearly everyone seemed worn out and dirty. They were all looking at him, some looking a bit nervous like the satyr he met before, and others in relief. "Okay," He began, bringing everyone to attention, "Explain everything you know."

They exchanged looks and after a moment, one of them finally stepped forward. He seemed to be older than the rest and had the look about him that made Percy assume that he was one of the head counselors. "Unfortunately, we don't know much of what's going on. This has been going on for two weeks now – and right around the same time, Chiron had left and we haven't been able to contact him or any of the gods," He glanced towards me, "apart from you. The camp's boundaries haven't been working – sometimes they'll hold up, but other times," He gestured towards the destruction, "They don't and swarms of monsters will attack."

"Do you know why Chiron left?"

The guy's brow furrowed a bit in frustration, "No. He didn't even tell us where he was going. He just told us that he needed to meet with someone and that the counselors were in charge until he returned. We didn't think much about it at the time – that was before this whole mess had started – but I doubt it's coincidence that things started to go downhill after him leaving."

Percy understood his frustration. He remembered how irritating it was when he was in their shoes – when every immortal he encountered would be elusive. Which was why he promised, after becoming a god himself, he'd try his best to as straightforward as possible when it came to situations such as this. Realizing they were waiting for him for answers, he rubbed his chin, "This is my first time hearing about this," He finally admitted, "because of my travels, I haven't checked into Olympus for a while. However," He paused, noticing quite a few of them were looking disappointed now – they were probably hoping he'd know everything, "I'll try and see if I can figure out what's going on. First, we should focus on the matter at hand. We'll need to repair the burnt cabins and rebuild the ones that have been destroyed. I also want to check on those who have been injured – I have some extra nectar on hand and I'm sure you guys will probably need it."

The guy who had just explained everything nodded in agreement. "What about the boundaries? I think they're up now," He frowned, "but that usually doesn't last."

"We should probably set up a guard," Percy stated, after a few moments of thinking, "Just until we figure out why they're not working. It should be a mixture of individuals that can keep any intruders busy and a few who can rush and warn the rest of the camp so all of us can be prepared. We can have it where we switch it out time to time that way no one becomes too exhausted. Think you can handle that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. That should work."

With that settled, he closed up the meeting and decided to pay a visit to the medical bay. Quite a few were injured, and as he entered, many of the absent Apollo campers were hurrying from cot to cot – making sure everyone was okay. When he entered, one of them paused when they saw him. "Lord Perseus! I'm so glad you came. One of the satyrs told me you had extra nectar – I know this is kind of abrupt, but would you mind if we have a bit of it? We're beginning to run really low…"

He handed over all that he had. "You can have it all, it's easy for me to get more anyway – and," He smiled just a bit, "you can just call me Percy."

She blushed a bit, taking the nectar from his hand. "Thank you so much. I'm Angeline, by the way – I know this might be a lot to ask, but, could you help us?" She gestured toward those who were laying in the cots, "They keep coming in and things are pretty hectic."

"Sure." He answered easily. He wouldn't be able to heal them directly like Apollo – but he was the god of demigods. Helping them was one of his specialties.

He spent nearly four hours helping where it was needed, and finally it seemed like everyone was properly treated for now. He waved the Apollo campers out of the medical bay. "You guys have been working nonstop," He stated, keeping his tone stern when a few of them protested, "If you keep this up, the lot of you will become sick yourselves and we won't have enough medics on hand if another attack happens."

"He's right, you know," Another voice made them look up, "I haven't even seen most of you all day," A new girl was approaching the group, and she hugged Angeline close, pecking her cheek. She seemed to be a bit heavier set – in a muscular way, not fat. "besides, didn't you break your hand?" She gently lifted the other girl's wrapped hand, her eyes narrowing when Angeline winced. "You should rest."

Angeline sighed. "Okay, okay. We will. Thank you for your help, Percy." She gave him a small smile before following her siblings back to their cabin.

The girl who had approached them turned back to him. "Hey. I'm Maddie – I'm the counselor of the Ares cabin – Emerson told about your plan to guard the camp and I want myself and my campers to be on the first watch. We have some who are injured, but I feel like we'd be the most capable right now."

He blinked. He was getting flash backs of Clarisse, but this girl seemed to be a bit more mellow than his old rival. Pushing memories away, he focused on what she was saying. "I think it'd be a good idea to have a few of the Ares campers guarding – but we should probably have a few stay back in the camp too. Just in case."

Maddie seemed like she wanted to protest for a moment, but then her lips pursed, and her gaze trailed over him briefly. "Fair enough, I suppose."

He raised a brow. "Something wrong?"

She shrugged, brushing a bit of her hair out of her eyes. "No. I guess I was just expecting a bit more. I've heard all sorts of stories about you - including the time you apparently "beat" my father."

Percy smirked lightly. "Were you expecting some sort of half-naked Greek with glistening abs and a trident rising up from the sea to your rescue?"

Maddie wrinkled her nose. "No," She turned, and as she began to walk away, she gave him a hint of a smirk herself, "If you would have shown up that way, I would've definitely broken your nose."

* * *

Once everyone was settled, Percy made himself comfortable inside the Big House. He was sitting in Chiron's apartment – he hoped the centaur didn't mind – he just didn't want to bother anyone in the infirmary while he tried to contact Hermes. Sitting on the couch, he leaned back against the cushion, sighing. After a moment of relaxing for a bit, he took a small device out of his pocket. It looked like a simple Bluetooth and he attached it to his ear. As he expected, when he tried to contact messenger god , all he received back was static. He tapped the communicator a few times, frowning.

After a few taps without any success, he was about to give up, when suddenly there was a connection.

There was silence on the other end. "Hermes?" He finally asked, that feeling of uneasiness was beginning to return.

" _Percy – BZZz – glad you – bzzz – Camp Half blood?"_

"Hermes, you're breaking up majorly."

" _Blast this – bzzZ – too many –"_ He made out a few curses in Greek on the other end.

After a moments, Hermes spoke up once more. _"Can you hear me more clearly now?"_

Percy sighed in relief. "Yes. What were you saying?"

" _As I was saying – I'm glad to hear from you. It's been crazy up here – too many people have been trying to get a hold of me. I assume you're at Camp Half Blood right now?"_

"Yes," Percy frowned, "What in Hades is happening? Nearly half of the camp was destroyed and on fire."

" _That's just it,"_ Hermes sighed in irritation, _"No one really knows what is happening. Two weeks ago – all communications seemed to go haywire. Sometimes I'll be able to get a connection with someone, like with you right now, but it's been a struggle just trying to hold a proper conversation with anyone. I can still see everyone who's trying to get a hold of me on my end, but whenever I try to pick it up, they're either incredibly broken up or the call ends up dropping. Anyway, you said the camp was half_ destroyed?" The god asked, sounding appalled, _"Where's Chiron? He hasn't even tried to contact me once."_

"That's…" Percy trailed off, frowning, "Chiron's missing. When I arrived, he was nowhere in sight and I had to take control over everything."

There was silence on the other end, and at first he was worried that the call had dropped, but then Hermes spoke. _"I see. I need to drop this call for now – too many others are trying to get through to me. I'll contact you when I know what's happening. For now, I think it might be better if you stay there – unless Chiron returns."_ Hermes hesitated, sounding like he wanted to say something else, but then there was a small beep. The call had been disconnected.

The call hadn't made him feel any better. It only left him with even more questions. Hermes sounded more disturbed than ever, and it wasn't taking his bad feeling away. It wasn't like he expected gods to know everything – he certainly didn't – but he never really expected them to be completely in the dark. He found himself wandering out of Chiron's apartment – he had a feeling he'd be tempted to search through the centaur's belongings if he lingered too long, and he found himself in the living room of the Big House. Mounted upon the wall was the familiar face of Seymour, the leopard head. At first the large cat head appeared to be sleeping, but upon his entry, the leopard yawned, its eyes resting on him. Seymour growled at him – not particularly in an aggressive way – more like a "hello there – are you going to feed me so I don't eat you" sort of way. He threw a bit of left over jerky from Dublin over to the head and the leopard caught the meat expertly in his mouth. He walked over to one of the windows. It was darker out, and there were still a few demigods about, but most were either already asleep or out on guard.

 _Unless Chiron returns._

That line was what was bothering him the most. Did Hermes know more than he let on about his disappearance? It almost sounded like "if Chiron returns", but the thought of Chiron not returning was unthinkable. He would return. He had a feeling that out of everyone, it was likely the centaur knew exactly what was happening.

Someone cleared their throat behind him.

Drawn out of his thoughts, he turned away from the window. The same kid from before – the one who spoke during the meeting – stood there. "Is everything all right?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah – the other counselors and I organized a few groups to guard the boundaries at certain hours tonight. I also thought it might be a good idea to post at least one person in front of the cabins just as an extra precaution and…" He hesitated. "Since some of the cabins were heavily damaged – we had to use some of the more empty cabins. I wanted to make sure it was okay if we used the Poseidon cabin."

He smiled a bit. "Yeah, that's okay. I think the Poseidon and Hades cabin will be fine to use – maybe Hera's too. But you might want to be careful about Zeus' – he's a bit picky."

"Yeah," The guy chuckled a bit, "We decided not to chance it either," He offered Percy one of his hands, "I'm Emerson by the way – Emerson Grey. I'm the Athena Head Counselor. I wanted to thank you for coming so quickly… we weren't sure if we'd be able to contact you. We tried an Iris Message initially, but those aren't working, but then Clover suggested we'd do it the old fashion way and pray to you. I was a bit skeptical at first, because I knew that was tried that with a few of the other gods too and it didn't really work, but it did for you."

"Clover?" Percy frowned.

"One of the satyrs here – he's one of Grover's apprentices. He's a bit young and still in training, but he's reliable. I think you met him when you first arrived."

Percy nodded slowly, a bit lost in thought. He felt a bit of sadness when he heard Grover's name. It just reminded him of how long it has been since he's seen his old best friend. "Anyway. Thanks for settling everything," He rested a hand on Emerson's shoulders, "You and the other counselors should get as much rest as possible. We're going to have a busy day tomorrow cleaning everything up."

Emerson gave a nod, and after he left, Percy flopped down on one of the living room's love seats. Seymour was still awake and the leopard's gaze followed him as he sat down once more. "Just my luck that the only familiar face I see here is you." He muttered to the leopard. He did recognize a few of the campers – he's helped quite a few throughout his time being a god – but that didn't mean he knew everyone.

 _I wish Annabeth was here._

Even now, after all the time that passed, that sentence would linger in his mind. He'd always feel guilty whenever she came to mind. Even if they left each other as a couple on good terms, he still couldn't help but feel like he had betrayed her all those years ago. She had moved on, of course, and found someone else – it had angered him for a while. The anger hadn't been directed at her, though, nor the guy she married. He was angry at the Big Three for throwing a tantrum and getting him tangled in it. Honestly, it had been the first time he had been truly annoyed with father.

Now Annabeth was married – had kids of her own... and grand-kids.

And he was stuck with immortality.

 _I wonder how she is._

He knew that at some point after she had gotten married, she had moved over to New Rome. Her family likely still lived over there. _I wonder if Camp Jupiter is experiencing the same difficulties._ He frowned. Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter were on better terms than they used to be, but their relationship was still sometimes rocky. Because of their intermingling, there were a lot of kids who had both Greek and Roman blood now, so things could get a bit crazy at times. A lot of times, demigods who had both bloodlines would have a hard time choosing which camp they felt like they belonged to and would often experience the Double Vision.

The name was a bit un-creative, but basically, when a demigod experienced Double Vision and a god appears before them, they'll see that god in one moment as their Greek self, and then in another moment, they'll be Roman. Visa versa. Usually it'll cause the individual to experience a really bad headache if they're not taught how to control it. Lucky for them, Percy didn't really have a "Roman" alter ego… yet anyway. It was explained to him that it may surface someday since he _did_ spend time at the Roman camp and apparently that could be enough to manifest one, but he hoped he didn't. He'd rather not experience the splitting headaches that came along with it.

 _Maybe I'll try contacting Camp Jupiter sometime soon._ He tipped his head back against the cushion behind him. _They probably don't have a clue either, but maybe they know more about what the hell's going on._

His eyes closed and he felt himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

He felt as if only a few moments had passed when he felt a light nudge wake him up.

At first, he was a bit disorientated. He was certain that he had fallen asleep in the Big House, but now he was outside and resting up against a tree. After a moment of confusion, he realized he was dreaming. _Huh. It's been a while since I've dreamed involuntarily._

He looked up. Thalia stood there, a light smirk on her face as she watched him come to. He offered her a sheepish grin. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

Thalia raised a brow. "More like what are _you_ doing here… these are my dreams, cousin," She chuckled in amusement. "Honestly, Percy. You're still a doofus as a god."

Percy stood, still grinning as he brushed some dirt off of his shirt. "Well, I promise I didn't really intend on invading your dreams. I probably just accidentally did since I was thinking about you and Annabeth. But I'm kind of glad that I did. Camp Half Blood has been attacked."

Her expression turned more solemn. "I know. The Hunters and I learned about it a few days ago – a dryad told us. We wanted to help as soon as we heard about it, but we've been held back. For some reason monsters have been out of control, Percy. We've been trying to figure out what's happening, but we've been cut off from Artemis. You're actually the first god who's come in contact with us in a while."

"Tsch," Percy sighed, a new wave of irritation was beginning to settle upon him, "I was able to contact Hermes briefly, but he's pretty much in the dark too. I feel like this whole situation is going in a huge circle. There's more questions than answers. Everything feels… off."

"Agreed." Thalia frowned. "Is the camp okay at least?"

"For now. The boundaries are malfunctioning, though. I've set up a temporary defense, but I'm not sure how well it'll hold for too long."

"We'll try to get there as soon as possible," Thalia leaned against the tree behind her, her arms folded, "We've been attempting to move in its direction as we go, but it may take a bit of time at this rate."

"That's fine. At least I know you're coming – we'll probably need all the help we can get. There was a lot of damage… and injuries." He glanced up towards the sky. It was a clear night and there was no moon. The stars were bright and shimmering merrily – not really matching the current mood.

Thalia smiled a bit and she pushed herself away from the tree, walking over to him. She offered him a light hug. "It was nice seeing you again. I have to go here soon, though. Hopefully not too much happens now that you're there – you might still be a Seaweed Brain, but you're still a god. It's likely the monsters will be more reluctant to invade the camp if they feel your presence."

"If I'm still a Seaweed Brain does that mean you're still a Pinecone Face?" He offered her another grin, causing her to roughly shove him away.

"In your dreams." She huffed, her stormy eyes glinting, "See you soon, Percy."

With that, the dream began to swirl away – reminding him of smoke blowing away in the wind. That normally happened when the other party connected to the dream woke up and he was left with being in a blank, empty space – indicating that he was still asleep himself. For a while, he just stood there, gathering his thoughts. Finally, he had an idea. If dreams worked with connecting with Thalia…

"Annabeth."

He murmured out loud. He didn't expect anything to happen at first. Connecting to someone's dream had a bunch of factors to it and the main one was the fact that the other party had to be asleep themselves for it to even work. Lucky for him, though, the space around him began to morph and change. Suddenly he was in New Rome, standing in front of one of the houses. There was a tree out front with a white bench swing on it, and sitting upon it was an older looking woman with a book on her lap. Most of her hair was blonde, but there was quite a few wisps of gray in it. Almost as if sensing his presence, she looked up from her book, her expression seemed a bit troubled, but as she spotted him, her familiar gray eyes widened a bit in surprise and recognition.

"Percy..?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note** \- Hello everyone! It's certainly been a while since I've updated this! I'm not really sure how many have been waiting for the next chapter, but I've finally finished the third chapter for you all! I hope you all enjoy it! Feel free to give me as much feedback as you like! :)

* * *

The cheerful song of birds was what woke him up the next morning.

A light groan escaped him and he stretched as he slowly woke, glancing over at the clock on the wall. It was only seven in the morning, but through the curtains of the window he could see the warm glow of sunlight. Yawning, Percy stood, brushing the wrinkles out of his shirt as he walked over to peer out the window. There were a few early risers out and about, and from where he stood he could see Emerson talking to a few. He wasn't at all surprised seeing him already up - from the brief moments of speaking to the kid, he could tell that he was the type who was fine with stepping up and being responsible. It reminded him quite a bit of Annabeth - which made sense considering Emerson would be her younger brother.

Sighing softly, Percy ran a hand through his dark hair, smoothing it down. According to Annabeth last night, Camp Jupiter wasn't having any issues at the moment. There had been a few odd occurrences, but nothing as major as what was going on at Camp Half Blood. She told him that she'd double check to make sure that was correct, though. She was retired from the whole hero business now, so she didn't always know what was going on precisely, but she said it wouldn't be too hard for her to look into it. As he expected, she seemed just as concerned about her old home as he was, so when she suggested the idea of sending a few of the Roman demigods over to help with rebuilding and protection, he had almost accepted the offer.

What made him hesitate, though, was the worry of tangling Camp Jupiter too far into it. What if their camp also ends up being attacked? They would need everyone available there to help protect it - even if it's a small group that's sent to Camp Half Blood. By now, he knew the importance of every individual when it came to battle. After that thought, he decided to decline that offer and told her that it'd be okay. The Hunters would be coming soon anyway, so he felt like they'd be okay for now. He could tell that Annabeth was a bit hesitant to just let the subject go, but eventually before the dream ended, she accepted his choice and told him to send her an Iris Message if they needed anything.

He agreed, but he was also secretly doubtful that sending an Iris Message would work at the moment given the circumstances. He didn't say as much, though, not wanting to concern her any further - and after that exchange the dream ended with one of them waking. It had felt a bit awkward speaking to her again, but when she had told him that it was really nice seeing him again and that he should try to visit her more often, it did make him smile. Honestly, he really should go visit a few of his old friends - especially now that everyone was beginning to be up in their years.

In previous years, he'd stop in occasionally (he kept tabs on everyone and knew where everyone lived - Leo made sure to tell him whenever he had a chance how creepy that was) and say hello. Nico was the hardest one to track down because he tended to be more of a wanderer. That trait followed the gloomy son of Hades even as he grew older, but after he and Will got married, he settled down just a bit. The last couple of times Percy had tried to visit, though, Nico had been out. Will didn't seem to mind his husband's irregular absences, but he always seemed too happy to chat with Percy whenever he did stop in.

"Always," He murmured out loud to himself, "Time to check in on everything." His voice made Seymour stir and the leopard's jaws parted in a wide yawn before his eyes settled on Percy, a low growl thundering in his throat. Percy waved a hand at the leopard dismissively as he walked by where he was mounted on the wall, "Yeah, yeah. I know you're not a morning person-er, cat. Go back to sleep, Spotty." Seymour didn't seem too appreciative of the nickname, but after yawning once more, it seemed like the leopard decided it wasn't worth his time to try and attempt to eat a god this early in the morning.

As he made his way outside, Emerson glanced over when he heard the door to the Big House close and he smiled a bit as Percy emerged. The son of Athena, made a gesture toward the demigods he was speaking to before he walked over to greet him. "Good morning." The other boy sounded tired as he stepped in front of him. Percy could see shadows under his eyes and he wondered if he even tried to sleep last night.

"Morning." Percy offered a smile in return. "Did anyone from last night's watch report in yet?"

Emerson nodded. "I was just speaking to a few who did the last stretch for last night. They said that everything was quiet and that the barrier never faltered. So I guess that's one good thing out of all this mess."

One good thing indeed. "Good. We should make sure that those who did the last stretch rest up a bit. I think our main focus of the day should be clearing up rumble and beginning to rebuild the cabins. I wanted to talk to all the Cabin Counselors about a few things after breakfast first, though. If possible."

Emerson was slowly nodding along with his words, and then his expression darkened just slightly. "We can definitely have a meeting - the only thing, though, is not all of the counselors will be there. The head of Hephaestus was among those who were injured during the attacks. He's been in and out of consciousness ever since so I doubt he'd be in any condition for anything at the moment."

Percy just shook his head. "That's not a problem. We can always fill him as soon as he's recovered. Maybe some could even take notes during the meeting so we can have something ready for him. Just have whoever's overseeing the cabin right now fill in and we'll give the notes over to them after."

"Sounds good. I'll go around and tell everyone. Should we meet in the Big House?"

"Yes. We'll use the Rec Room."

Once everything was settled, Emerson headed off to inform the others and Percy was left to his own devices for the time being. He took a moment to survey the camp and he spotted someone familiar. Clover the Satyr was sitting comfortably on a tree stump. He had a tin can in his hand that had a bite taken out of it and on his lap was a book. Percy found himself wandering over to the satyr, and it seemed like his presence was sensed because Clover looked up even before he was close to him. The satyr closed his book, setting it on the stump as he stood and he smiled a bit nervously at Percy. "G-good morning, sir," Clover cleared his throat a bit seeming a bit embarrassed of his nervousness, "did you need something?" He kind of reminded him of Grover when he first introduced Percy to Dionysus.

"No," Percy gave him a reassuring smile, "I just wanted to thank you. It was a good idea to try and have someone pray to me just to see if it worked."

Clover blushed. "Oh. It's... it's nothing - I just remembered Grover talking about praying once and thought it might work."

"How is Grover doing?" Percy wondered. Unfortunately, due to both his and Grover's busy schedules, he hadn't had the chance to see his best friend in a very long time and in turn hadn't really caught up with him either.

Clover brightened. "He's doing good. He checks in occasionally - I haven't heard from him in a few weeks - but he seemed okay when I was talking to him then."

"That's good to hear. Anyway, I'll leave you to finish the rest of your breakfast. I have a meeting to get to soon." After bidding the satyr farewell - Percy decided to wander a bit around the camp just to access the damages in more detail. There was a mixture of reactions from everyone when they spotted him - some with just curious looks, others whispering to each other, and some neutrals. As breakfast for the day was beginning to wind down, he began to gradually heading back to the Big House.

He heard low voices before he stepped into the Rec Room and as he opened the door they hushed, looking over at him as he entered. Emerson was sitting at one of the ends of the table in there (which was also a ping pong table) and he sat up a bit straighter as Percy took the other. "Is everyone here yet?" Percy wondered as he settled down.

"We're still waiting for a few." Was the other's reply and they ended up waiting another ten minutes for the last few stragglers to file in.

Once everyone was accounted for, Percy leaned forward. "Okay. So - I'll just jump right into it to save time. Like I told Emerson, I feel like today and the next few days should be reserved for recovery - clearing the rumble, rebuilding the cabins, watching the barrier, and making sure everyone who's injured is taken care of." He paused, letting that sink in for a moment. "In the meantime, I'll be helping where I can, but I personally want to focus on the barrier and the communication issue. I was able to get through to Hermes the other night, but our connection was brief."

"Does he know what the hell is going on?" One of the counselors piped up. He was a bit on the skinnier side - but tall with semi-long ginger hair. Out of them all, he was the only one leaning back in his chair - almost as if he was disinterested in what was all happening. "Because it would be _awesome_ if someone actually knew." His sarcasm was laying in thick and he didn't seem to really notice (or perhaps he didn't care) when Emerson shot him a look.

"Not too much more than we do," Percy's lips nearly twitched in amusement when the guy didn't even hold back a loud, irritated sigh, "however, I did find out that the communication issue isn't just us. The gods are having troubles too - I was barely able to connect to Hermes myself. Though, it did make me hopeful that I'll be able to connect to him again. He told me that he'll be working on it for the time being and will contact me if he finds anything out. I do have a bit of good news, though-"

"That's a first." The same guy muttered, interrupting - earning another look from Emerson.

This time Percy did smirk just a bit, "-and that news is that the Hunters will be arriving soon to help us with reinforcements. I was able to speak briefly to Thalia Grace by visiting her dreams - so that's another way of communication that might work. She told me that she and the other Hunters heard about the attacks earlier on, but they've bit a bit held back with monsters themselves. I was also able to check in with a resident who lives in New Rome and Camp Jupiter apparently has not been attacked at all and are currently safe - so for those who have relations over there, feel free to reassure them with that."

As he suspected, mentioning the Hunters seemed to ease the tension a bit and boost morale. Emerson folded his arms, a thoughtful expression. "So we're not the only ones who have been attacked by rogue monsters. It's good to hear that Jupiter hasn't had any issues, but I wondered who else has been attacked." It was a fair question. For all they could know, the gods could be having issues too. Hermes hadn't said anything about it, but when Thalia mentioned that they were cut off from Artemis, he had his suspicions. He doubted the goddess would intentionally just leave her Hunters without any warning unless if it was severe.

"That's a good question." He admitted with a frown, "and something that we should definitely look into. But right now, let's focus on getting things back in order in the camp." There were a few head bobs as he spoke and a slow grin appeared upon his face. "I also wanted to take this chance to get to know you all as counselors and since I only recognize three of you from, I thought we'd go around in a circle and do some introducing! I want your name and your cabin." Quite a few of the kids groaned, causing Percy to chuckle in amusement. He'd forgotten how much fun it could be – being a god.

It didn't take too long for them to go in a complete circle – Percy could've added in something like "give a fun fact about yourself too", but he decided to spare them from something like that. As long as he could commit each counselor to memory, he'd be pleased enough. He felt it would have been a bit awkward if he'd been in a position of not knowing names. He was going to have to write everyone down, though, after the meeting. His memory could be a pain sometimes. His gaze fell upon the head of Apollo's cabin, which was the girl he'd met the other day – Angeline. She was sitting next to Maddie. "By the way, Angeline, do you feel like the infirmary has enough help as of right now?"

Angeline appeared to think on it for a moment before nodding. "I think so – too many people in there would only crowd it further. I feel like the amount of hands we have right now is enough."

"Sounds good." He took a few moments to consider if he'd miss anything else. "I think that's pretty much it. Is there anything that any of you want to add?"

A few minutes of silence passed and a couple exchanged looks. He took that as a no.

"All right," Percy said after a while, "we'll go ahead and close this meeting up then. Oh and Cole," His head turned toward the one currently representing the Hephaestus cabin. The kid was easily probably the youngest in the group here, and he felt a bit bad when he made him jump a bit in surprise at being noticed.

Cole seemed to be able to collect himself before becoming too nervous. "Yes?"

"Make sure to remember to tell your counselor to come to me if he needs anything cleared up about the notes given to him," Percy paused for a moment, remembering something as soon as he stated that, "or he can just send for me if he's still bedridden." Cole nodded several times – his expression softening a bit in relief. Everyone filed out of the Big House after that - a few slower than others. Some of them wanted to ask him a few quick questions, while a few briefly grouped up to discuss how they were going to split work amongst everyone.

By the time Percy managed to step back outside again, it was a bit past noon and everyone was starting the grueling process of cleaning up the camp. He observed the camp for a moment, and as he glanced over to his right, he noticed someone leaning up casually against the corner of the Big House – smoking. Frowning, Percy veered in his direction – only to smile a bit when he recognized who it was. "I see that you still haven't knocked that bad habit of yours, Sylvester Lewis."

The guy jumped a bit, nearly dropping his cigarette and he glared at Percy. "Geez, Jackson. You almost gave me a heart attack—" He broke of suddenly, as if realizing something, and then he glowered even more so. "And _don't_ call me that. It's Austin now – how'd you even figure it out?"

Percy smirked a bit. "Only a hotheaded ginger like you would have the audacity to pull out a smoke in front of the Big House. Besides, it wasn't really hard to guess. Maybe next time you should change your last name too, Austin Lewis." As he spoke, he plucked the cigarette from the other's hand, extinguishing it.

Austin-Not-Sylvester sighed, waving Percy around the corner of the building so they could speak more privately. Percy had thought the guy had looked a bit familiar when the ginger had spoken up during the meeting - and after he had introduced himself as Austin Lewis of the Dionysus cabin he knew. Once they knew no one was around to eavesdrop, Percy chuckled. "How are you holding up?"

Their history was a bit complicated - mainly because it happened over the course of nearly thirty-seven years. Austin may appear to look like a regular ole fifteen-year-old, but he was a victim of a curse that halted his aging. Now most would think a curse like that was a blessing, but that was only part of it. Every sixteen years - everything would reset and he'd end up back in a body of a seven-year-old. It was a cruel and unfair curse as it also effected those around him as well - all their memories would be erased, and he'd have to go through the whole process again of being a "newcomer" of the camp.

The reasoning behind the curse was pretty stupid and not even the guy's fault. He'd just been someplace at the wrong time and out of spite - the one who placed the curse upon him had decided inflicting it upon him for the next two centuries was necessary. Percy had found him beaten and unconscious in an alleyway when he had been originally seven years old (and when his name was Sylvester - even back then he had hated the name) and took him under his wing for a bit until he was twelve. Of course, Percy was always busy and found out pretty quick that he wasn't going to be able to take care of the boy properly, so in spite of the younger's protests, he'd brought him to Camp Half Blood.

Percy was the only god Austin could tolerate, so if it would have been up to him, he would have just stuck with him for the duration of his curse - immortals were the only ones who remembered him whenever he de-aged anyway.

"As much as one can hold up knowing that in a year or so they'll have to re-live life in a seven-year-old's body for the third time." Austin grumbled. "I never understood _why_ it was sixteen - why couldn't it had been twenty-one so I could at least enjoy a year of alcohol?"

Percy laughed. "Says the guy who smokes when technically it's illegal to do so until your eighteen. This is just a guess, but I'm kind of doubtful that you've ever held back on trying a sip of wine or beer during all this time."

Austin smiled a bit. "Point taken. But still it's very bothersome."

Percy glanced him over once more - his brow furrowing thoughtful. He was trying to figure out why he hadn't recognized him right off hand - it'd been awhile, yes, but he felt like he'd remember him regardless. Then it came to him. "You've let your hair grow out." He noted. The younger man had always been adamant in keeping it neat and short in the past - but now it was long enough to curl around his earlobes.

Austin shrugged. "Yeah - I thought maybe changing things up would make things interesting. I dunno - in this lifetime I'm Austin the Troublemaker," He smirked a bit, "I do enjoy keeping Emerson on his toes - pretty sure the guy hates my guts."

"Can't imagine why." Percy snorted. There was a brief moment of silence in between the two and he shifted a bit - remembering why he originally wanted to speak to the other. "Ahem... anyway. To be honest, you have been on my mind for some reason this past month and-"

The redhead brightened a bit, but there was a bit of a mocking edge in his eyes - they were nearly the same color as his father's, "Finally decided to come to your senses have you then, Jackson? Bout time. I'd love going out on a date with you."

Percy almost choked - almost - he had been expecting so form of sarcasm, but not that. The other seemed rather pleased that he'd finally managed to catch the god off guard for once. Whenever the two bumped into each other in previous years - Percy usually was the one who excelled at teasing. Scowling a bit, the young god realized that he was becoming distracted. "Dating is the last thing on my mind, Lewis. I was actually considering the idea of letting you accompany me while I'm traveling around. When all of this dies down, of course."

Austin frowned a bit at that. Percy knew that the guy still resented him a bit for leaving him on Camp Half Blood's doorstep those years ago - Chiron was good company for the most part, but during that brief time with Percy at the beginning he had enjoyed traveling and learning from him. Grunting a bit, he folded his arms, fixing Percy with a stare. "What's changed your mind? You seemed pretty eager to give me up the first time." He said with a scoff, causing Percy to grimace a bit.

"Chiron might have sent me a letter two months ago explaining to me that you were pretty miserable here. He thought, perhaps, it'd be good for the both of us... since most of the time Blackjack's the one that provides me long-term company." The other still seemed a bit unsure and suspicious, "you can think on it," Percy added, "like I said, given the current circumstances, I'm probably not going anywhere anytime soon, but I just wanted to let you know that I'd be willing to give it a try if you wanted."

Austin was still frowning, but he seemed to be contemplating now. "I guess... we'll see," He finally replied, breaking his silence, "It's not that I... I mean, I don't hate Camp Half Blood - it's been my home ever since that day, but it is a bit hard sometimes - making connections only to be forgotten once you reach a certain point. To be honest, I sort of wish the curse would take my memories too. Least then I wouldn't know any better each time."

Percy nodded, trying not to let his sympathy showed through - he knew the other hated being pitied. "Take your time, then. If you decide to stay, it's not like I'll be angry or anything." He glanced up at the bustling camp. "Anyway, we'll discuss this later. Right now, focusing on the camp takes priority. You should go back to your cabin and make sure all your campers know what they're doing."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay," Austin stifled a yawn, "see ya around then I guess." The ginger shoved his hands in his jean pockets and without much of a glance back, he sauntered off in the general direction of Dionysus' cabin.

Releasing a sigh, Percy wondered if he was signing up for a potential disaster. The idea of spending the next two centuries (well, one hundred and seventy years now) with the guy made him feel a bit exhausted just thinking about it. And he probably would stick with him even after that - once the curse was lifted, then he'd just start aging up normally from being sixteen. He had to admit, though, the idea of having a friend with him was appealing - Chiron was right, he would often become a bit lonely.

Brushing those thoughts aside, Percy was about to head for the barrier to investigate it more thoroughly when a scream pierced through the camp. Without hesitation, Riptide materialized in his hand as he hurried toward the direction of the scream. A crowd was gathering, and his eyes narrowed when he spotted a hellhound in front of him. It was growling at the demigods as they pulled out their weapons, but as Percy approached, its gaze quickly lifted... and just like that, its growls ceased and gave a familiar _WOOF!_ in excitement before bounding over the group of demigods and tackling Percy to the ground - drowning him in dog saliva as it licked him happily. " _Mrs. O'Leary_." Percy managed to gasp out as the hellhound continued to crush him. "...nice.. to see you again...too." He laughed breathlessly as the demigods around them looked on in a mixture of fear and amusement.

"Sorry about that - I may have accidentally mentioned your name before traveling over here - and she refused to stay put." A familiar voice made Percy pause from trying to struggle away from underneath Mrs. O'Leary, and he turned his head as an older man with grey streaks in his hair stepped out from the shadows - quite literally - and smiled down a bit at the pinned god. "Nice seeing you again, Percy."

Percy couldn't hold back a grin. "Nico."


End file.
